R
Starting this log from my mid taper point, from 50mg to 20mg, however returning to 30mg now for 90 days
April 15, 2026··
taper update
It's been a difficult journey as my doctor and I were trying to taper two medications at the same time, my main issue was feeling flat, struggling to focus on work and struggling for motivation. The taper on Pristiq was combined with a taper on Seroquel. The Pristiq tapering is being done with time release capsules prepared by a compounding pharmacy.
The Seroquel we have decided to hold at 400mg, down from 800mg initially, and focus on the Pristiq now, as it's too hard to know what is causing which withdrawal effects. I felt I was doing ok until about 35mg of Pristiq (started at 50mg), I had a sudden extreme period of tiredness and exhaustion where I couldn't get out of bed. We are unsure if it was the Pristiq taper or the Seroquel taper that caused this, or the combination itself.
To counter this, I went onto Modafinil, which helped me continue to stay awake during the day, however this also had what is actually a negative effect, it masked the withdrawal symptoms of Pristiq, to the point where I forgot to take it regularly over the last few months. We did also continue the taper, but increased the speed from 5mg every 2 months to every 1 month.
However, I've noticed no improvement in mental clarity or ability to work better over the last 2 months, if anything it's become worse, and I have begun to feel somewhat depressed again also. Because of this, we are trying to go back up to taking 30mg, and holding there for 90 days, along with the 400mg hold of Seroquel also, to stabilise things, before proceeding to try tapering the Pristiq alone from there.
I decided it's too difficult to focus on two medications at once, so the 90 day hold, plus going back up from 20mg to 30mg Pristiq, will possibly give me some idea if the exhaustion and inability to focus was caused by the lack of the adrenaline component of Pristiq. If I begin to feel a bit better going back up from 20 to 30mg over 90 days, we can reassess what path to take again that will have the least impact on my ability to work and function.
Roy E’s taper progress
Dose (mg)
Mood (/10)
Pristiq — 30mg — 17 Years — holding | Seroquel — 400mg — 17 Years — holding | Valium — 2mg once or twice a week — 10 years — supporting others | other — Modafinil 200mg — 3 Months — supporting others | with clinician
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